SFL provides a mouth-watering menu for high school football

While some football fans in greater Sacramento County have become mesmerized over the thought of ESPN cameras gaining sudden interest in our neck of the woods, the city of Roseville and Placer County in general have something pretty hot developing right in our backyards.
And this is no one-night stand.
The Sierra Foothill League football race looks like it will be battle after battle after battle from one Friday to the next, all the way to the end of the regular season 11 weeks from now.
The Grant-Folsom game is receiving all the media hype, what with this being “Zero Week” – games played the week before the regular season really begins – Grant’s defensive unit of NCAA Division I recruits taking on Folsom’s high-powered passing attack, and the worldwide leader setting up its cameras so everyone can watch.
OK, that’s one night. Here’s what the SFL, probably the best conference in the Sac-Joaquin Section this season, has planned: Granite Bay, Woodcreek, Roseville, Rocklin, Del Oro and Nevada Union.
To borrow a phrase from NASCAR, “Have at it, boys.”
Granite Bay coach Ernie Cooper spoke with conviction Thursday in describing the SFL. He noted that every team will go into every season saying everyone in its league is good, but inevitably, there are always teams that are down. Not in the SFL. Not this season.
“There is not one team in the SFL that’s down,” Cooper said matter-of-factly.
If you have a son who plays football at one of the schools, a daughter who is a student or a child in the band, you’ll watch your team every week. No argument there.
But if your allegiance is to high school football before a specific mascot, you’re lucky the second weekend of October. You can travel to Grass Valley on Thursday, Oct. 7, to watch Granite Bay and Nevada Union and then take in Woodcreek at Roseville or Rocklin at Del Oro the next night.
After that – well, good luck picking from this menu:
Oct 15: Granite Bay at Woodcreek, Roseville at Rocklin, or Nevada Union at Del Oro?
Oct. 22: Rocklin at Woodcreek, Del Oro at Granite Bay or Nevada Union at Roseville?
Oct. 29: Woodcreek at Nevada Union, Granite Bay at Rocklin or Del Oro at Roseville?
Nov. 5: Woodcreek at Del Oro, Roseville at Granite Bay or Rocklin at Nevada Union?
That’s like having to choose between the French Quarter, meat loaf and jambalaya at Mimi’s Café.
So what is a football fan to do? Here’s a suggestion: Close your eyes, point to one, and go to that game. You can’t go wrong.
Bill Poindexter can be reached at billp@goldcountrymedia.com.